Green Streets

Misco Drive, Whitehall, MI(Photo by Prein & Newhof)

Green streets are designed to reduce runoff contamination in rivers and lakes by allowing water to filter through permeable pavement, vegetation, and the ground. Permeable pavement allows water to seep through instead of traveling on the surface to a storm drain, and thus prevents the water from collecting contaminants like fertilizer and oil. Native vegetation can be planted within bioswales, which are ditches along the street designed to filter storm water before it goes into the ground. The City of Whitehall recently installed the first Green Street in Michigan along Lake Street near the intersection with Misco Drive.